Essay On The Salem Witch Trials

985 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Salem witch trials and its link to women essay

Salem Witch Trials Salem Witch Trials - Gender and Power in the 17th Century The year 1692 and early 1693 saw the prosecution and execution of nineteen witches, an old man stoned to death, several accused witchcrafts dying in jail and close to 28 being cast out of the infamous Salem Village (present day Danvers, Massachusetts) on the belief they possessed power to sway people into doing what they wanted (Goodbeer, 2011, p. 2). Early 1692, the daughter; Elizabeth and niece; Abigail Williams of first Salem Village ordained minister; Reverend Parris experienced and had frightening episodes of screaming, uttering voices and throwing things around. Another girl Ann Putnam also experienced the same and under magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hawthorne influence, the girls blamed their conditions on three women: Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne for performing witchcraft on them (Goodbeer, The Salem Witch Hunt , 2011, p. 14). Richard Godbeer’s ‘The Salem Witch Hunt’ puts into account the proceedings of several accused cases with most of the accused being women and the McCarthyism paranoia that gripped Salem Town. Two of the accused women; Good and Osborne pleaded not guilty but Tituba confessed practicing witchcraft and that there were many more witches in Salem. Her confession opened the doors for further more trials against witches with Governor William Phipps establishing a Special Court of Oyer and Treminern to handle the witchcraft cases. The court’s first case saw a respectable church member; Martha Corey tried and convicted making Salem inhabitants’ paranoia increase with people believing nobody was safe if a church member could be a witch. Legitimacy of evidence produced at court was questionable with spectral evidence be... ... middle of paper ... ... claimed Burroughs was unkind to his wife and did not allow her to talk to other women. Another man Giles Corey was stoned to death despite his old age. What surprises many is the fact that leaders of community laid the whole Salem Trial process on the basis and testimonies of very young girls whom were easily gullible and their testimonies could be easily altered. This suggests that the young girls were only seeking attention that they lacked in their homes with false hysteria experiences. In conclusion the Salem Witch Trials bring to light the perception of women in society during the 17th Century and most religious and political leaders were men. Women were not allowed to hold high office and to preach the gospel. It is a challenging issue that needs to be changed and how men perceive women take a U turn and they be given equal chances to their male counterparts.

Show More
Related

  • Causes of the Salem Witch Trials

    2019 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hinds, Maurene J. Witchcraft on Trial: From the Salem Witch Hunts to the Crucible. Library ed. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • The Role of Young Women in the Salem Witch Trials

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    The notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief, but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories. A combination of motives seems the most rational explanation of the frenzy that followed the illness of the two girls. This paper looks closely at the some of the possible causes of one of the most notable occurrences in history.

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the summer of 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, two girls, known as Betty, daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris and her cousin Abigail Williams who was taken in by the family of the Parris’ started acting very strangely. They had muscle spasms, seizures, contorted their body in strange ways, and yelled gibberish. Rev. Samuel Parris took them immediately to see their doctor, but finding nothing physically wrong with the girls he blamed witches. No one knows for sure the exact cause of the Salem Witch Trials, but there are many different theories. After the strange actions, 3 women were blamed, Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good, and Rev. Parris’ slave Tituba. Tituba admitted to telling the girls spooky stories about the supernatural and even claimed to have seen the devil. Good and Osborne pleaded innocent.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Franklin G. Mixon's Homo Economicus And The Salem Witch Trials

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    From June through to September of 1692 the Salem Village, Massachusetts, was in a state of constant panic and suspicion as young girls began to exhibit strange behaviour and claimed they were possessed. As a result of the trials nineteen people and two dogs were hanged, one man pressed to death by rocks, eight other persons sentenced to death, fifty expecting sentence and one hundred and fifty awaiting trial in gaol. Historians have offered many explanations for these events including: real witchcraft within Salem or hysteria through the belief in witchcraft, pressures of the puritanism religion and its leaders encouraging the events, fraudulent behaviour from the afflicted, ergotism and other physiological illnesses, and finally, social circumstances

    Read More

  • The Salem Witchcraft Trials: 1692-1693

    252 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Salem Witchcraft Trials were a series of events that is ultimately depicted today as an episode of mass hysteria in the years 1692-1693. The trials had a large effect on the entire community of Salem, Massachusetts. As a community, the trials had an effect of constant fear overlooking the settlement. Everyone was constantly worrying about the threats of witches and spirits invading their homes and hurting their family. The government and authority figures were in a sort of panic, questioning how to handle such an insane situation that they had never had to deal with before, and with religion playing such a huge role in government, this was more to the authorities than simple crimes; it was a threat to their faith. The church felt the same

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

    1692 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the month of January 1692, bizarre conditions were sweeping across the small town of Salem Massachusetts. A group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil, and accused several local women of witchcraft, henceforth starting the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Amongst the first girls to display abnormal behavior were young Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail Williams. They were experiencing convulsive seizures, screaming uncontrollably, and were in a trance-like state. When called, the physician came and examined the girls, finding no natural cause of such disturbing behaviors. Since no sign of physical infirmity was found, the town reasoned that the girls had been bewitched. Later on, the community pressured the girls into revealing

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials Research Paper

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    The hysteria of the witchcraft episode in Salem, Massachusetts developed over two years during the late 1690’s. One of the primary causes that contributed to the deaths of one hundred and twenty-six people, were the young village girls called the “afflicted”, who accused the women of the village of witchcraft. The majority of the accused and accusers were females while the males of the village held the important roles of trial and jury during these times.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

    1147 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the small town of Salem, Massachusetts the fear of devil worshipers and witchcraft spread through the town like wild fire. In the years of 1692 and 1963 men and women accused of witchcraft were gathered up and imprisoned or killed. 200 men, women, and children were accused of witchcraft and there were at least 20 deaths . The majority were hung but there was one man that was pressed to death, and four known deaths in prisons. The rest of the accused were thrown in jail for months with out trials . The Salem Witch Trials were brought up by the belief of the supernatural, a recent smallpox epidemic, and fears from being attacked from the Native Americans, and longstanding rivalry with other town’s people. They were also fueled by their fear of outsiders and the suspicions and resentment of their neighbors. The trials were the start of something bigger that happened. The events that took place in Salem in 1692 are a part of a greater pattern throughout our history to persecute innocent people, especially women, as "witches."

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials: The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

    259 Words  | 1 Pages

    In January of 1692 in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Parris, daughter of Reverend Parris, his niece Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam Jr. fell into a trance-like state experiencing convulsions and screaming. Physicians were called in to examine the girls but they could not find a cause for the behavior that they were undergoing. Since the physicians along with everyone else in the community could not find anything physically wrong with the girls, they came to the conclusion that it must be the work of Satan, thus beginning the Salem Witch Trials.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Analysis and Comparison of the Witch Trials In modern times, the most infamous witch trials are the one that occurred in Salem. These specific witch trials are known for the unjust killings of several accused women and men. The Salem witch trials of 1692, is a big portion of what people refer to, when they want to analyze how Puritan life was during the colonial period. According to ‘Salem Witch Trials’, “The witch trials are often taken as a lens to view the whole Puritan period in New England and to serve as an example of religious prejudice…”

    Read More

  • The Reasons And Importance Of The Salem Witch Trials

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    To understand the reason and significance the Salem Witch Trials hold, it is important to know what life was like in the sixteenth century. The Salem Witch Trials occurred due to tension reaching its peak in Salem, Massachusetts that effected women even to this day. In the year 1629, Salem was officially established located on Massachusetts north shore. Most of the settlers were English or of English decent and as a result they carried over many English laws. Also in the year 1629, England issued a charter that allowed young Salem the right to self-govern. Salem was primarily filled with Puritans, and their religion effected Salem’s autonomy. English emigrants left their home to escape political and religious oppression, but ironically the

    Read More

  • The Fairy Trials Essay: The Salem Witch Trials

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    We have all heard fairy tales about witches and wizards. You know, the ones that ride brooms and have that evil laugh! Well, in Salem, Massachusetts, the people there believed in them too. They might not have been the ones that can be seen in the books or popular movies, but they were considered a legitimate threat to the people of Salem. The “witches” of Salem have become a famous part of history, as the trials began in January of 1692. The Salem Witch Trials were some of the darkest times in human history because they caused unjustified hysteria and fear of the unknown; as a result, this caused physical, mental, and emotional harm as well as a great loss of human life.

    Read More

  • Abigail Williams In The Crucible

    246 Words  | 1 Pages

    Set in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, a group of young girls were in the forest chanting “spells” in order to have the men they desired. Leading them was a black woman named Tituba, who later confessed to being afflicted and was let off with minimum charges. The teenagers feared being exposed when two young girls fell ill and the town doctor couldn’t find a cure. They confessed to being afflicted and used it as means to accuse the women whose husbands they wished to have relations with. Leading the herd of deceiving girls was Abigail Williams who was in lust for a married man named John Proctor. The trial for Abigail and the girls was heard at the congregation hall where the girls pretended to be possessed by fainting and hallucinating causing

    Read More

  • Salem Witch Trials

    1476 Words  | 3 Pages

    The year 1692 marked a major event in history in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The Salem Witchcraft Trials still leaves this country with so many questions as to what happened in that small town. With all the documentation and accounts of the story, people are still wondering why 19 people died as a result of these trials. This paper will discuss the events leading up to the Salem Witch Trials and the events that took place during and after the trials, and the men and women who were killed or spent the remainder of their lives in jail. The Salem Witch Trials has become one of the countries most fascinating stories.

    Read More

More about Essay On The Salem Witch Trials

Open Document